tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post6273373042134582486..comments2024-02-04T12:33:21.975-08:00Comments on The Crow Diaries: Tortoise takes hare in health raceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-5339938551055739742013-04-09T10:06:53.104-07:002013-04-09T10:06:53.104-07:00The reason walkers 'burn more calories' is...The reason walkers 'burn more calories' is they burn more fat. Runners burn the carbs they take on board during the run. In fact they do burn more calories but less from their body stores.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654008270273227214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-17069946808208606102013-04-05T09:48:02.788-07:002013-04-05T09:48:02.788-07:00It's true, many runners run simply to train. B...It's true, many runners run simply to train. But from direct experience I can confirm that a great many more run because they like to run, because of the places their runs take them, because of the camaraderie they share with fellow runners, and because their runs leave them feeling good, happy, alive! And, just as most walkers walk for similar pleasures, there are fanatics out there who do it to tick lists, to cover as many miles as possible, and to boast about their achievements afterwards...<br /><br />On the injury side, runners do get injured. I'll grant you that running can stress the body more than walking. (Of course, stress applied in the right way, can make muscles and joints stronger too, can help them last longer.) But not all runners get injured, especially not if a runner takes a little care to consider 'how' they run. I have running friends who are running in their sixties, seventies and even in one notable case in his eighties, and have no joint issues. And I have ex-walker friends who have failed knees because of pounding up and down mountains in heavy boots beneath heavy packs, who blame their arthritis on walking too many miles in too much rain! <br /><br />Also worthy of consideration: do you have friends whose knees 'went' in their twenties, and suffered other health issues, because they never used their bodies at all? I know I do.<br /><br />Shall we use Joss Naylor as an example of evidence that running isn't necessarily bad for you?<br /><br />My point is: the differences between running and walking are negligible, if either activity is approached with just a little care and thought. Both are fine ways to travel. Both offer huge health benefits. Both can bring immense pleasure. Both benefit individuals and society far more positively than than the inactivity adopted by society in general.<br /><br />Neither activity is inherently superior, neither is worth belittling. So... just live and let live. Refrain from the 'you'need-to-do-as-I-do' demands. Your blog bordered on being an anti-running blog. I'm sure you're not an anti-running zealot, but that was why I responded.<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-64022388609171917742013-04-05T09:12:48.434-07:002013-04-05T09:12:48.434-07:00Agreed,there are no reasons to stop running if you...Agreed,there are no reasons to stop running if you enjoy it and you feel it's having a positive impact on your health. What I would say is the Prof Williams' study only details the cardio vascular implications. More serious in my case is the damage that running can do to joints,muscles, tendons etc. I don't have evidence to hand but I have heard of fanatical runners suffering serious arthritic conditions in later life. Overall,my instinct is that walking has to be better for one's health than running.<br />I would also add, most mountain walkers are walking to get somewhere,not to exercise their body. That's just a bonus. A lot of runners tackle their sport in a much more calculated and scientific way.Footless Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08545519120244657632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-91651548203562551742013-04-05T08:50:30.890-07:002013-04-05T08:50:30.890-07:00An interesting blog, and some questionable science...An interesting blog, and some questionable science from the US study. Do walkers really use up more calories than runners for the same time period? A quick search and you'll find many studies that will show you the exact reverse. Which has me wondering about the other results you outlined. Some 'studies' find exactly what they wish to find, and prove exactly what they wish to prove...<br /><br />But what do the studies matter anyway? Why bother using a questionable study simply to prove that one activity is 'superior' to another.<br /><br />As an 'obsessive' runner (with a 40-50 mile a week 'habit'), and also as an ultra-obsessive backpacker/walker (with several thousand mile walks completed), I can find room in my life for both, without the need to bandy about clichés about either. To some people I may look gaunt, wiry, and emancipated, but regular running in the mountains brings a level of fulfillment and joy that I don't have room here to even begin to explain. Am I truly harming myself or others with my running? Why do people who don't run feel an urge to knock people that do run so often?<br /><br />I've been commanded to slow down in the hills more times than I can now say. The people that see me running make some quick judgment, decide I'm a foolish individual who has no idea how to appreciate, see, or 'feel' the high places, and obviously feels an urge to save me from myself. But what little imagination these people show!<br /><br />There is room in this world, and on the hills, for runners and walkers, and also for climbers, cavers, horse riders, bird watchers, and all other manner of past-time subsets ending in 'ers'. Not all of us runners are devout zealots... not all of us are simply training, or running purely to get fit; some of us run for pleasure, for the experience itself. And many of us runners walk too, and do many other things besides.<br /><br />Too many people these days like to judge and deride activities they don't partake in themselves. Please don't fall into that trap...<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-11829372033381655352013-04-05T06:27:37.182-07:002013-04-05T06:27:37.182-07:00I used to run to keep fit for the hills. Then I st...I used to run to keep fit for the hills. Then I started having injuries and eventually stopped figuring that I loved the hills most and was going to end up having some problems. Looks like I got it right!Maryrosespringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264731741529574276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694983711794441623.post-85075789125833479662013-04-05T04:13:36.272-07:002013-04-05T04:13:36.272-07:00I've always believed this in my bones. Interes...I've always believed this in my bones. Interesting. What little running I did in my youth never left me feeling very good, and I've always maintained that fast walking in the hills is better in every way.GordonStahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16291680302936323889noreply@blogger.com